Al Jazeera... sort of like the Arab PBS or BBC. Good stuff. Granted, one could argue they have a bias, but you get to see stuff from an Arab point of view that you don't normally get to see in the West.posted by wastelands at 5:45 PM on January 25, 2009

I didn't catch any mention of the assassination attempt on the Shah's life in 1949 at Tehran University (presumably the one that sent a bullet through both sides of his face, beginning a backlash on the communist-backed Tudeh party).posted by Brian B. at 6:26 PM on January 25, 2009

Granted, one could argue they have a bias, but you get to see stuff from an Arab point of view that you don't normally get to see in the West.

One of Dave Emory's early program descriptions (1993)
This series of interviews covers the landmark research of Farah Mansoor, a member of the Iranian resistance whose historic research on the rise of the Khomeini regime documents the decisive role of the United States in developing Islamic fundamentalist forces in that country as the anti-communist successors to the Shah's government. Farah has documented that U.S. Ambassador to Iran, Richard Helms, learned that the Shah had cancer in 1974. Former Director of Central Intelligence Helms promptly informed the CIA and Department of State with the result that, by 1976, George Bush's CIA was actively supporting and grooming the Khomeini forces. The subsequent takeover of the U.S. embassy in Teheran, the withholding of the U.S. hostages until after President Carter's defeat was assured, the Khomeini government itself and the Iran-Contra scandal proper were all outgrowths of this profound and long-standing relationship. It should be noted that parts of this relationship have been misunderstood as what has become known as "the October Surprise." Although there was, massive collusion between the Reagan-Bush campaign and the Khomeini forces during the 1980 election campaign, there was no "deal" cut during the campaign. Rather, the "deal" was part of a covert operation begun years before and the collusion during the campaign was an outgrowth of it. AFA-38 The Terror Connection III
begins with part3.2a
Seems consistent, the United States develops Islamic fundamentalist forces, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, then bomb and profit.posted by hortense at 10:45 PM on January 25, 2009

Party like it's 979.

The irony is, of course, that in 979 that area of the Middle East (Persia and surrounds) was at on of it's high points of intellectual and artistic development. Khomeini's Islam? Definitely a step backwards...posted by rodgerd at 10:57 PM on January 25, 2009

Man, I really wish I had time to watch these.... Stupid qualifying exam.

On its face, the MemriTV link doesn't make it obvious whether Al Jazeera carries an anti-Western slant before translation into English; it's diluted with content from a broad array of sources. There are only fourteen clips from Al Jazeera posted between October 1st and today; one of them features Cynthia McKinney, and others feature spots with clerics with rather inflammatory things to say. At least according to the clip titles; I don't have the ability to actually watch them right now. It's unclear whether this is all of the inflammatory material from those four months, or if it is indicative of the daily run of programming.

The question is whether Arab-language Al Jazeera is implicitly supporting Muslim radicals, or whether they are merely providing coverage of important (if distasteful) public figures. It's not like we don't provide coverage of such people in the US as well...posted by kaibutsu at 10:54 AM on January 26, 2009

I thought Al Jazeera was the Arab BBC. (Staffed by ex BBC Arabia and World Service employees).

Hell, half the non-Arab BBC staff seem to have ended up there, anyway. I was watching David Frost interview Terry Pratchett last year.posted by rodgerd at 2:52 PM on January 26, 2009

Oh come on, Krrrlson! Is there a more wretched hive of scum and villainy in middle-east reporting than MEMRI?

It'd be hilarious if someone made an inverted version, that's nothing but Fox News guests like Robertson and Coulter with melodramatic voiceover translation.posted by blasdelf at 2:30 PM on January 27, 2009

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